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Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Central Point’s Wal-Mart at intersection of busy and business By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Local residents and city officials are concerned over the impact a proposed Wal-Mart super center would have on traffic near the corner of East Pine Street and Hamrick Road. "It’s going to be a damn near calamity if Wal-Mart comes out here," said lifelong resident and farmer Ken Beebe, who lives west of Hamrick on Beebe Road. Beebe said traffic already is congested in the area because of visitors at the Jackson County Expo, travelers at the Pilot station, employees from White City mills and business from four trucking companies. "Every day at 3 o’clock, Hamrick backs up a half-mile past the Mon Desir (restaurant), and what in the world is going to happen when they have the county fair? I can’t imagine how they’ll handle such a mess," Beebe said. Advertisement If the project is approved, Wal-Mart will build a 207,000-square-foot store — intended to replace the Medford Wal-Mart on Highway 62. In recent years, several independent traffic studies have been conducted to plan for impact by future developments at Pine and Hamrick, including a community shopping center at the site, a proposed 5,900-seat amphitheater at the Jackson County Expo, new subdivisions and increased traffic from four large trucking companies. City Planning Director Tom Humphrey said in a written statement this week that the area had been master planned — and traffic improvements designed — around a much smaller shopping center. He said "a regional big-box store on the scale of a Wal-Mart super store would have a more significant impact upon traffic circulation and congestion." Plans to rebuild the older half of Pine Street Bridge — closed last year because of concerns it might fail — were also based on potential traffic generated by a community shopping center with an anchor tenant only a third the size of a super center. Humphrey said traffic engineers raised concerns that Wal-Mart might insist on an additional traffic signal between Hamrick and Peninger. "The effects of an additional signal in that area could be detrimental to the traffic flow on Pine Street," Humphrey said. "Some improvements would definitely be in order, but in every plan I’ve seen, (the bridge and Pine Street) will remain a five-lane arterial. "I can see where construction of a Wal-Mart store could impact things a bit more but not to the point (the intersection) would start to fail," Humphrey added. Wal-Mart spokesperson Amy Hill said statistics were unavailable on how much traffic might be generated by the super store, but developers would take into consideration any traffic improvements needed at the site. "Each store is handled on a case by case basis," she said Wednesday. "Some projects require lanes to be widened or turning lanes and signals to be added. Our stores are obviously very popular, or none of these problems would be an issue, but we try to address those issues in a way to please everyone involved." Former mayor Bill Walton said he appreciates the convenience a Central Point Wal-Mart will pose for local seniors and looks forward to community partnerships often initiated by Wal-Mart. But he believes roadways near Interstate 5 would need major improvements to prevent serious traffic consequences from a big-box retailer. "There’s no simple answer," he said. "Yes, Wal-Mart’s going in. They have the legal resources and they’ve done their homework. ... But it’s how you plan around that. You can’t stop growth, but what you can do is have the foresight to make certain that infrastructure is in place." Walton suggested another access road could be built behind Umpqua Bank from Bear Creek to Hamrick Road to relieve traffic congestion on Pine. "The city needs for ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) to step up to the plate and be willing to give 30 feet of their property, property they use for storage of gravel and trucks, and let the city put a road in. That would cut traffic by half," he said. "It’s strange how when something is logical that there are no arguments against it, but people just don’t come to the table." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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